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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Roky Erickson's Hometown Triumph At SXSW Festival

Legendary rock and roll icon Roky Erickson recently debuted songs from his anticipated new record True Love Cast Out All Evil, out April 20th on Anti Records, at this year's South By Southwest Festival to overwhelming critical praise. The album and recent live performances pair the unique and influential artist with fellow Austin-ites Okkervil River to a startlingly poignant effect. The songs on True Love Cast Out All Evil were written amidst the well documented pain and turmoil of Erickson's past battle with his own mental illness and local authorities. The record was produced by Okkervil River's Will Sheff and conveys an unexpectedly intimate and emotionally cathartic side to Erickson's well-known genius.

Critical Praise For Roky Erickson With Okkervil River at SXSW:

"If there was any doubt about the pairing of psychedelic pioneer Roky Erickson and literary balladeers Okkervil River -- they disappeared with "Rokkervil's" redebut to headline the first day of Paste's weeklong bender. Rokkervil stole the day, ushering in tunes from their new collaboration on unreleased Erickson recordings, True Love Cast Out All Evil. The melding of Austin's premier howler with the city's leading erudite indie yelpers proved uncannily natural, with a surprising Burrito Bros country-rock slant..." - Austin Chronicle

"Roky Erickson, the 13th Floor Elevator and pioneer of both psychedelia and psychedelics, has had a well documented struggle with mental illness... Today he seemed very sure-footed, surrounded by Okkervil River, another local act, as they performed songs like "Be and Bring Me Home" from True Love Cast Out All Evil, the upcoming album they made together. It frames Erickson's direct writing, which lands in places irony can't touch... After the second song, Sheff leaned into the mic and said, "Turn Roky's mic up. Up here, and out there." It was nice to clearly hear someone who has spent far too much time on the sidelines." - New York Times

"The first "official" show I saw during SXSW was Roky Erickson with Okkervil River at the Paste magazine party. Oh, golly. The set included so many Roky greats, including my all-time fave, I Walked With a Zombie. Okkervil and Roky have teamed up for a new album called True Love Cast Out All Evil (out April 20), and they just sound fantastic together. I mean, really: Two-Headed Dog. Starry Eyes. It was a golden afternoon." - USA Today/Pop Candy

"If you missed the beautiful Roky Erickson pairing with Okkervil River on Wednesday afternoon, they team up again tonight at 12:30 a.m. at La Zona Rosa. Definitely worth the $5 cab ride to the other side of downtown. Introduced Wednesday as "two Texan treasures," the two generations mixed perfectly, especially when the keyboards began swirling." - Los Angeles Times

"Best reinvention: Texas psychedelic rock legend Roky Erickson already had his comeback from decades of mistreated mental illness (thankfully). He went ahead and topped it at SXSW this year by pairing up with Austin indie-folk-rock troupe Okkervil River, with whom he made a new album for Anti- Records due out in a few weeks, True Love Casts Out All Evil. The disc's title track was among the set highlights in a tent outside the Galaxy Room, but they also breathed new life into some of Roky's best-known classics, including a Phil Spector-ized "I Walked With a Zombie" and a Stooges-fierce 'You're Gonna Miss Me.'" - Star Tribune